Red Letter Day
by acer-sigma
Summary: Not all milestones are clebrated, some are loathed. For Vala, one in particular is to be both celebrated and loathed.
1. Chapter 1

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story, and seeing as how there is a writers strike at the moment, if the networks really want this idea, I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

**Spoilers:**Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Momento Mori. Takes place after Season 10.

**A/N:** Short I know, but it's a prologue and I'm working on it. As for the title, I'll explain later on.

XXXX

Vala tossed and turned in her sleep, her dreams plagued her as her subconscious worked overtime to churn out memories and emotions that she had tried to repress and forget. Yet they always seemed to find her in the end.

Shooting up from her bed, Vala wiped the sweat from her brow as she tried to calm her breathing. Glancing at the clock on her night stand, she sighed as she read the early hour. This had been going on for several days now, each day getting worse as the day she both revered and hated approached. She knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight as the nightmares continued to build in intensity.

In the past, when this day approached, she would have found some way to keep her mind off her memories. Be it finding some scam or con that she could devote all her energy into pulling off, or even loosing herself in a night of unbridled passion; anything as long as it kept those memories away. Unfortunately, she thought, none of her old methods of dealing with the problem would be well appreciated. Any scam or con she could work would no doubt find its way into the disapproving frown of one Dr. Daniel Jackson. Who funny enough, would have been her first and only choice for a night of unbridled passion. Unfortunately, she thought morosely, Daniel wouldn't be particularly inclined to help her in that way. In fact, she mused, he'd probably accuse her of faking her emotional distress just to get him into bed.

Shaking her head to clear that idea out of her mind, she quickly climbed out of bed. For a moment she let her mind drift as she wondered how her other self could have possibly dealt with her demons for the fifty years that she had spent trapped onboard the Odyssey; trapped with little to no distractions to take her mind off her inner demons. Had she confided in Daniel, in her friends, or had she simply disappeared when the time had arrived, disappeared to battle her inner demons alone as she had always done.

Teal'c, she knew, would more than likely have the answers; all she had to do was simply ask. As stoic and resolute as he was in keeping his silence over the events that had occurred on the Odyssey, it was unlikely he would deny her this inquiry.

Yet she couldn't risk it. If her other self, she reasoned, had revealed the truth behind why her nightmares tended to intensify, than surely Teal'c would have already approached her in private to offer his support. The fact that he hadn't, would seem to show that her other self had successfully hidden her distress from the others. Despite herself, she couldn't help but smile at her other self's ability to keep such a secret from her teammates for fifty years.

Vala's smile however, soon turned to a frown. It was a pity, she thought to herself, if her other self had only told the rest of the team the truth, than she'd at least have Teal'c to confide in. She couldn't fault herself though; her friends would never understand what she had had to do to survive all those years ago.

Daniel, she thought with a sigh, would definitely not understand; he had long ago made it clear that he disapproved of the lifestyle she had been forced to live prior to her arrival on Earth. If he ever found out the truth…, she quickly shook off that depressing thought as she took another glance at the time. She needed some sleep if she was going to be of any use to Daniel in the morning. Unfortunately, past experience had taught her that it would be near impossible to get any sleep.

Deciding that there was really only one thing she could do that would hopefully exhaust her and wouldn't get her into trouble; she quickly pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her dresser. Pulling off her sweat soak night clothes, she quickly dressed in the shorts and t-shirt; she then slipped into a pair of sneakers and prepared to leave her room for the gym. As she reached the door, she cast one look at her closet, and hoped she wouldn't have to resort to her only other measure if she failed to exhaust herself. With that last thought in mind, she quickly exited and jogged down the corridors of the SGC.


	2. Chapter 2

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story, and seeing as how there is a writers strike at the moment, if the networks really want this idea, I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

**Spoilers:**Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Momento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat.

A/N: Just to let you all know, I've added a few bits to chapter 1. Not necessary to reread it, but it is there if you want to. And yes, I know they're short...but you all know how life can get. Anyways, happy reading.

XXXX

The men and women of Cheyenne Mountain quickly got out of the way as Dr. Daniel Jackson made his way through the corridors of the SGC with a determined stride and a conflicted expression adorning his features.

Running a hand through his hair, as he increased his pace, Daniel didn't know whether to be concerned or frustrated. He had just finished a briefing with one of the archeological teams, a briefing in which Vala, his assistant, was supposed to help him with. Instead, she had been a no show. At first he simply thought she was just being late, so as to either make an entrance or annoy him. Instead what he got was a message from Walter saying that she had called in sick. It was an unlikely story he thought, considering Vala never got sick. It was, he thought darkly, probably one of the few benefits that Vala got out of her time as a host.

Yet as the meeting progressed, he couldn't help but worry that she was in fact ill. After all, she was an alien, and it was quite possible for her to have contracted something that she would have had no immunities to. Daniel's stomach had lurched at the thought, and he all but had to restrain himself from running out of the briefing room to check on Vala. Instead he carried on the briefing, half worried and half frustrated over Vala's condition. When the briefing adjourned, he practically brushed aside all questions as he dashed out of the room.

As he barreled down the corridors towards Vala's room, he considered making a detour to the infirmary, but quickly dismissed the idea until he knew what was wrong with Vala. Besides, he mused to himself, Dr. Lam would have been extremely put off if he had dragged her from the infirmary over a simple cold.

Still he vowed that he'd drag Vala down to the infirmary if he had to, that or wring her neck if this was one of her attempts to get a rise out of him.

His thoughts immediately cut off as he came within sight of Vala's quarters. Increasing his pace, he soon found himself standing in front of her door. Raising his hand to knock, he paused briefly to compose himself and to get his emotions under control.

Once he was sure that he didn't look completely flustered from his trek from the briefing room to Vala's quarters, he knocked and waited for a reply. His worry returned when there was no response. Knocking louder he called out, "Vala!"

"Vala are you in there?"

Leaning closer to the door, Daniel tried unsuccessfully to hear any sound from within the room.

"Vala," he called again as he continued to knock, "I know you're in there, are you all right?"

Silence continued to meet him.

"Vala, if you don't answer, I'm going to come in," he stated as he reached for his access card, and nearly dropped it in surprise.

"Go away," a muffled and hoarse voice sounded from the other side of the door.

At the sound of her voice, Daniel's brow furrowed as a wave of worry and anxiety washed over him. "Vala, are you alright in there," he called through the door in concern.

Daniel's question was met with silence. "Vala!"

"I'm… fine," Vala's voice came out quietly.

"You don't sound fine," Daniel reasoned. "Why don't you open this door…"

"No," Vala's shaky voice cut him off, "I'm fine, now go away!"

"Vala," Daniel began.

"Away."

"Vala, if you don't open this door," Daniel threatened, "I'll open it myself!"

"Don't you dare," the indignant reply came.

"You're not giving me much of a…" Daniel stopped mid-sentence at the sound of something hitting the floor. Without a second of hesitation, he quickly swiped his access card through the card reader. Daniel was practically through the door before the reader even flashed green.

Barreling in, Daniel had to catch himself as he stopped abruptly at the sight before him. He couldn't believe his eyes as he took in the sight of the rumpled bed, strewn clothes, and the sight of Vala peering at him over the side of the bed from the floor.

"What the hell," he exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story, and seeing as how there is a writers strike at the moment, if the networks really want this idea, I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Momento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat.

XXXX

_Barreling in, Daniel had to catch himself as he stopped abruptly at the sight before him. He couldn't believe his eyes as he took in the sight of the rumpled bed, strewn clothes, and the sight of Vala peering at him over the side of the bed from the floor._

"_What the hell," he exclaimed. _

XXXX

Silence met Daniel's exclamation as the two stared at each other for several seconds.

Damn the man, Vala thought to herself, as Daniel stood before her, he just couldn't leave things well enough alone. And he had the nerve to call her nosey, she concluded to herself, as her hazy mind raced through possible scenarios to get rid of him quickly before he could ask any questions and stumble upon her secret. Well, she said to herself, nothing like making him uncomfortable. She let out a sigh as she mentally prepared herself.

Daniel watched as Vala let out a sigh as she continued to stare up at him from her position on the floor at the side of her bed. She made no move to get up, and her silence, as she gazed up at him with a slightly dazed predatory/calculating glint, made him a bit uneasy.

Shifting slightly, Daniel suppressed the brief urge to turn around and run, as he returned Vala's stare with one of his own. As he looked at Vala, the brief urge to flee was replaced once more with a mixture of unease and concern. He narrowed his eyes and frowned as he got a really good look at Vala.

She was still peering up at him from the side of her bed not moving, Daniel blinked as he suddenly noticed the flushed cheeks, mused hair, and the slightly glassy/red-eyed stare of the woman that was in front of him.

"Vala," he called in concern as he moved further into the room, but stopped short as Vala brushed a stray strand of hair out her face and shot him a grin.

"Darling," she began slowly and flirtatiously, "I didn't… know you had a… key to my room! Come for a little…how does Cameron put it…late night nookie? Well, I'm afraid now… really isn't the time! How about… tomorrow night," she concluded with a smile.

Leave it to Vala, Daniel thought to himself, to attribute a sexual motive to his looking in on the condition of a coworker who had missed work and had reported in sick that morning.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he retorted with a huff, "I'm here for no such thing!" Despite the way she looked, she couldn't be that ill, Daniel thought to himself as he continued to look her over, especially if she's still able to come up with a sexual innuendo. He shook that thought off, as he realized just who he was talking about. Besides, something about her seemed off to him.

"I came to check up on you," he explained as he stood awkwardly in her room, "it's almost noon, and you missed the briefing this morning." He sighed as she frowned, "You know the one you were suppose to help me with," he added.

"Oh," Vala replied simply. "Didn't….I…didn't I call in sick," she asked as she closed her eyes in concentration.

"Yes, Walter gave me the message," Daniel answered as he fought the urge to roll his eyes, "which is why I'm here." It was than that he realized that not only had Vala still not bothered to move from her position, but her speech was also a bit slow and she seemed as if she had to concentrate to string together her sentences.

He watched silently as Vala absent mindedly brought a hand to massage her forehead. His initial concern for her sky-rocketed as she let out a brief sigh of relief from her ministrations, before he was even aware of it he was kneeling by her side, a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Vala, are you feeling alright," he asked concern evident in his voice.

Vala opened her eyes and blinked in confusion as if just realizing Daniel was with her. She gave him a smile and nodded her head, but quickly brought her hand back to her head to stop the sudden wave of dizziness the movement made.

"Of course I'm alright Darling," she reassured him, "why do you ask," she added innocently.

Daniel couldn't help but roll his eyes over the question, "the fact that you called in sick, you never get sick," he said simply. "Or how about the fact that you're still sitting on the floor next to your bed and haven't bothered to move since I got here," he added with a gesture to their position.

"Darling…are you trying to tell me that you would prefer me in bed," she asked as she shifted closer to him.

Daniel colored slightly at the remark but didn't bother to move away, "would you stop trying to deflect everything with sex," Daniel exclaimed in frustration. "Just answer the damn question," he growled.

"I'm fine Darling, it's just been a particularly tiring day," Vala said reassuringly as she leaned in towards Daniel and flashed him a dopey smile. "See, perfectly fine," she added, patting him on the chest.

"No you're not, and it hasn't been a tiring day," Daniel replied as he caught Vala's hand, "you've been in here all morning Vala," he said as looked at her glassy/red-rimmed eyes, "maybe we should go see Carolyn," he added as he moved to stand with Vala.

"Don't wanna," Vala said simply as she pulled her hand away, as she used it to support her head as she leaned onto the bed.

"Look Vala," Daniel began in exasperation, before stopping suddenly. He frowned and wrinkled his nose as he suddenly took note of the slightly odd smell that was in the room. His frown deepened as he tried to place the slightly familiar smell. Leaning in closer towards Vala's face, he took a cautious sniff, before suddenly pulling back and staring at Vala with a mixed look of disbelief and disappointment adorning his features.

The look quickly turned accusatory, "Ha…have you been drinking," he asked in a low monotone voice.

Vala completely missed the underlying tension behind Daniel's question. Instead she graced him with a smile and replied, "Of course I haven't BEEN drinking Darling!"

Daniel shot her an incredulous look, "Vala, don't…." he began as Vala shrugged her shoulders and interrupted him.

"I haven't BEEN drinking," she reiterated as she bit her bottom lip, before she reached under her bed. Rummaging around a bit, a grin suddenly blossomed on her face as she sat back up with the bottle that had dropped and rolled under her bed, in hand. "I AM drinking," she added flippantly as she pulled the cork and brought the bottle to her lips.

Before the bottle could reach her lips, "Give me that," Daniel exclaimed as he reached out and wrenched the bottle from her grasps.

"I can't believe you," he said, as he stood up, his voice devoid of all emotion. "It's not even noon! How did you even get…," he looked at the bottle and frowned, "what is this anyways," he asked as he squinted to read the faded alien label.

Vala attempted to grab the bottle back, but failed as Daniel moved it out of her reach. Letting out a huff, she frowned in concentration as she stared at the bottle. "Well, it's…., it's from….it's….," she started as she tried to remember what the name of the bottle was.

Her frown deepened as she failed to remember what was in the bottle. "Well….it's….it's uhmm…it's green," she declared finally at the only thing she knew about the drink.

Giving her a look of disbelief, Daniel lifted the bottle towards the light to try to get a better look at the label. It was definitely green Daniel thought to himself, as he let out a sigh and returned his gaze to Vala.

"Never mind," he said as he ran his free hand through his hair. "Just, where did you get it?"

"Really now Daniel isn't a girl allowed to have her secrets," she answered coyly.

"Vala," Daniel growled. "How much of this have you drank," he asked as he examined the half emptied bottle.

"Oh not much," Vala stated with a shrug, "I was just starting that bottle when…."

"Just starting," Daniel interrupted in disbelief as he looked once more at the half empty bottle, before sputtering, "what…what do…you mean this bottle?"

"Oops, I meant just that bottle Darling," Vala said, wincing at the look Daniel shot at her, as dread began to build.

"Vala," Daniel said warningly as he swept his gaze around the room. Once again he took note of the slight disarray of the room before his eyes settled on the open closet. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of various bottles lying near the door. He was rather dismayed to notice that several appeared to be empty.

"Have you been drinking all that," Daniel asked as he swung back to stare at Vala in disbelief and disappointment.

Her silence was his only answer.

"I don't believe this," he exclaimed, "this is a military base! Do you realize the trouble you could get in for drinking while on duty?"

"I'm not military," Vala defended herself, her eyes downcast, "I'm not even from this planet," she murmured quietly.

Daniel failed to hear her last comment as he latched onto the first part of her statement.

"That doesn't matter! You are a member of this facility, you have responsibilities," he exclaimed with a rising voice, "how could you screw up like this?"

"Daniel," Vala called his name tentatively as she winced at the anger in his voice.

"Damn it Vala, don't give me the act," Daniel said shooting her a look, as he heard the plaintive tone in her voice. "Just tell me what possessed you to do something like this?"

Biting her lip, Vala thought about telling Daniel the real reason behind her actions. But the anger in his tone and the expression he wore made her hesitate. Lifting her head to meet his gaze, she was slightly surprised to find behind the stern expression, a measure of concern behind his eyes.

Drawing a measure of courage from that ounce of concern, she decided to tell Daniel the truth, and hope he could understand and forgive her for what she was about to tell him.

Taking a deep breath, she braced herself. "I'm…well…," she began weakly, before gathering up more of her courage, "it's well…," she faltered slightly as she racked her brain for the right words, "it's kind of…well, I suppose you could call it an anniversary…I guess….You see…."

Daniel suddenly froze, as he blocked out the rest of Vala's explanation. He didn't know why, but suddenly a cold stone had settled into the pit of his stomach as the word anniversary filtered through his mind. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, he narrowed his eyes as he steeled his resolve before addressing Vala.

"That's what this is all about," he asked in a calm emotionless voice. "You know you're not the only one who's been separated from loved ones, it doesn't give you an excuse to get drunk!"

"Daniel," Vala asked confused.

"Sleep it off," Daniel said simply as he stood and placed the bottle on her desk before moving towards the door. He paused as he opened the door, before looking over his shoulder, "I'll talk to General Landry about having you discharged from the SGC," he added before closing the door firmly behind him as he left.

Vala simply stared in shock at the door that Daniel had walked through. She could only think that she had just made a terrible mistake.


	4. Chapter 4

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story, and seeing as how there is a writers strike at the moment, if the networks really want this idea, I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Momento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat.

**A/N:** Bit of self-analysis and reflection in this one. Also afraid it's going to be sometime before my next update after this one. I've got to do an exam for a job selection/interview, so that will be taking up my time for a bit. But don't worry I'll be back in no time at all!

**XXXX**

"_That's what this is all about," he asked in a calm emotionless voice. "You know you're not the only one who's been separated from loved ones, it doesn't give you an excuse to get drunk!"_

"_Daniel," Vala asked confused._

"_Sleep it off," Daniel said simply as he stood and placed the bottle on her desk before moving towards the door. He paused as he opened the door, before looking over his shoulder, "I'll talk to General Landry about having you discharged from the SGC," he added before closing the door firmly behind him as he left._

_Vala simply stared in shock at the door that Daniel had walked through. She could only think that she had just made a terrible mistake. _

**XXXX**

Vala didn't know what to do, as she continued to stare at the door in shock. It was a mistake, she knew, she should never had opened up to Daniel. He was obviously disgusted by what she had begun to tell him. There was no way that he or anyone else could ever understand or even comprehend the memories that plagued her.

And now, now those memories have cost her the only home she had ever known since before Qetesh. It was rather ironic actually, she thought to herself, that what had cost her, her home in the past would return to ensure that she would never find a place to call home, to call her own; not that she could actually call this solitary room her own, she thought somewhat bitterly.

Cursing her own stupidity, Vala stood unsteadily and moved to retrieve the bottle from where Daniel had set it down. Grabbing it from the desk, she brought it to her lips and was about to tilt her head back, when Daniel's voice filtered through her mind.

"_Have you been drinking all that,"_ his angry voice resounded in her head.

"_That doesn't matter! You are a member of this facility, you have responsibilities," he exclaimed with a rising voice, "how could you screw up like this?"_

"…_it doesn't give you an excuse to get drunk!" _His voice continued to berate her.

Trying to get rid of the voice, Vala shook her head furiously, but it continued to taunt her, continued to voice its displeasure and disappointment, and worst of all, its disgust. Tears began to prickle at the corner of her eyes, as she blinked furiously to control her emotions.

"Damn you Daniel," she whispered, "as if my life wasn't already screwed up as it is! Why didn't you just leave me alone," she asked the empty room. Receiving no answer, she suddenly looked down at the bottle in her hand, as if it held all the answers, "Why wasn't I stronger," she asked herself in a monotone voice, before screaming, "why," and flinging the bottle at the closed door.

As the bottle shattered, Vala found her strength disappearing as she collapsed onto her bed and folded into herself. Her sobs filling the quiet room as she let the combined grief of Daniel's disappointment and her resurgent nightmares overwhelm her.

XXXX

"_I'll talk to General Landry about having you discharged from the SGC," he added before closing the door firmly behind him as he left._

XXXX

Daniel let out a growl, as he threw his pencil down in frustration, and pushed his chair back away from his desk, least he be tempted to sweep it clear. Looking down at the translations he had been working on, he frowned at his lack of concentration. He couldn't concentrate, and he knew why. Vala was foremost in his mind, and he flinched as once more, the memory of his confrontation and the words he had said to her continued to play themselves out in his mind. As another repetition played out, he knew he wouldn't be able to get any work done.

She was depressed and he wondered how he had failed to notice. It must have been building up over the days if she had taken to drinking to forget her anniversary… to forget about Tomin. He knew what she was going through. He still remembered the pain of losing Sha're every year on their anniversary.

Strangely enough though, over the last few years, it didn't hurt as much anymore, and he had Vala to thank for that. He'd never told her about his wedding anniversary, never even talked about it.

He suspected that Sam or Teal'c had been the ones to fill her in on the reason behind his self imposed exile when the time came around. After all, Sam was the one who had warned Mitchell about approaching him when that day came around. And Mitchell had taken his cue from the rest of the team, as they did what they had always done, let him mourn in peace.

But Vala, he thought, despite his attempts and no doubt the numerous warnings, not to mention interventions, of their teammates would not leave him alone. She would, his lips twitched at the thought, come bouncing into whatever room he was trying to hide in, grace him with a wide smile and plop down beside him.

The first time she had done it, she had sat down with the excuse of needing a quiet place to finish her mission report. He'd simply shrugged and ignored her; that was until ten minutes later when she started making innocuous conversation. Conversation which he tried to block out and ignore, before finally giving up and leaving the room in silence.

It was a wasted move however, as Vala once more skipped through the previously locked door and settled in beside him. He remembered growling at her and demanding she leave him alone. But she had refused, and when he demanded to know what she wanted; he was shocked by the earnest look that had graced her features as she quietly asked him to tell her about Sha're.

His shock, he remembered guiltily, had turned into anger at her audacity for asking about Sha're. He had lashed out and berated her, telling her she had no right to ask him any questions; that she wasn't good enough to even mention her name.

Vala had simply taken his abuse, before simply demanding he tell her what was so great about Sha're; and he did at that. It wasn't until he finished that he realized that he was no longer taunting Vala, but was actually talking about Sha're.

When he had finally glanced up, Vala had stood up and was looking at her from the door. "Are you feeling better," she had simply asked him.

The question caused him to pause in thought for a moment. Surprisingly, he was feeling better, he realized. He blinked slowly and simply nodded his head when Vala called his name again.

At his silent answer, Vala had simply given him a supportive smile, before disappearing out the door, leaving him wondering what had happened.

It wasn't until much later that he realized what Vala had done for him. She had gotten him to talk about Sha're, something that not even Jack ever managed to do, had managed to take his mind off of 'what ifs' and 'could have been.' By letting him talk of the good times, and the reasons why he loved Sha're, she allowed him to grieve properly, rather than wallow in self-pity as he had always done.

As this realization had washed over him, an immense amount of guilt had begun to settle in the pit of his stomach at the way he had lashed out at her. He had immediately sought her out to apologize, but she simply waved it off, saying she understood and that if he wanted to make it up to her, he could take her out.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the sudden onslaught memories, Daniel again felt the familiar pangs of guilt for the way he spoke to Vala. It was, he realized, not her actions that he was disappointed with, but his own. Vala had noticed when he needed a friendly ear, and had subjected herself to his harsh words, yet in her time of need he had completely missed the signs.

"She misses Tomin," he says to the empty room, even as he dismissed the sudden ache in his heart. That was the key to helping her, he told himself, and he was going to help her, even if it meant her leaving the SGC for good.

Letting out a sigh and glancing at his watch, Daniel noticed that several hours had passed, since he had sat down, with very little accomplished, except of course his brooding over Vala. Running a hand through his hair, he got up to leave his office. Deciding to head towards the cafeteria, he figured he'd grab a bite to eat and try to figure out how he was going to address Vala's problem with Landry.

**XXXX**

**A/N2:** Well hope you all enjoyed this one. Hopefully it'll also give you a different insight into Daniel's actions so far. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think! And as I said earlier, it'll be a little while before my next update because of real life, but don't worry, I won't leave you all hanging.


	5. Chapter 5

Red-Letter Day

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story, and seeing as how there is a writers strike at the moment, if the networks really want this idea, I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Momento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat, so maybe a couple of references to Ark of Truth.

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait, but things kept coming up and interrupting the writing process. Plus as you can see, this is one of the longer chapters. What can I say, it got away from me! Anyways, hope you enjoy, and please review to let me know what you think.

**XXXX**

Daniel was completely lost in thought as he sat in the commissary. Despite his intentions, he found his thoughts constantly returning to Vala and her distraught feelings.

"What the hell did that pasta ever do to you Jackson," Cameron Mitchell asked, interrupting Daniel's musings, as he and Teal'c sat down at his table.

"What," Daniel responded in confusion as he looked up in surprise, not having noticed Cam and Teal'c approaching him.

Cam simply looked at Daniel in amusement before shaking his head and pointing to Daniel's plate.

Looking down, Daniel grimaced at the pasty remains of the spaghetti that he had been absentmindedly pushing around on his plate. Dropping his fork, he pushed the tray away from him before looking back up at Cam and Teal'c.

"Guess, I just wasn't hungry," he replied with a shrug.

"Right," Cam drawled as he shared a look with Teal'c, who had cocked an eyebrow in response.

"What," Daniel exclaimed defensively.

"Oh nothing," Cam replied simply as he took a bite of his sandwich before continuing, "it's just that we recognize that look. Don't we Teal'c?"

"Indeed we do," Teal'c responded.

Daniel opened his mouth to respond but was instantly cut off by Cam.

"So, I take it you've heard about Vala?"

Daniel froze at the question. 'This is not good,' Daniel said to himself, his mind flashing with problems that could arise if Vala's act of indiscretion were to be made public before he could work things out with Landry.

"Jackson," Cam prodded when Daniel failed to answer.

"Huh…oh yeah, I know," Daniel answered with a frown.

Smiling in amusement at Daniel's obvious concern, "Jackson, relax already, everything will work out find," Cam said reassuringly.

"ColonelMitchell is correct DanielJackson," Teal'c added, "there was no real harm done."

Both Cam and Daniel stared at Teal'c's pronouncement, one with a look of incredulousness disbelief, before shrugging it off, and the other with a mixture of concerned frustration.

"I don't know Teal'c," Daniel said as he quickly looked around the immediate area before looking back at his team. "If word gets back to Landry, before we can work something out, Vala's going to be in a lot of trouble!"

"Yeah well," Cam said offhandedly, "chances are the General already knows. After all, Walter is practically chained to the rumor mill," he said, circling his fork in the air for emphasis. "Sides," Cam continued, "even if the whole base didn't already hear about it, he would have found out about it from Dr. Lam's report!"

Massaging his forehead, Daniel let out a groan at the fact that not only did the entire base seem to know about Vala's 'little' problem, but also that it was more than likely that General Landry was also now aware of Vala's less than professional behaviour and breach of discipline. Landry was going to be furious, he thought to himself. He had hoped to talk to Landry, smooth things over in a sense, before the situation could get out of hand. That didn't seem likely anymore, he thought in distress as he tried to figure out how he was now going to approach the General with his request.

"You need not be overly concerned DanielJackson," Teal'c replied calmly as he observed Daniel's distress over the news.

As Daniel's gaze shifted to him, Teal'c continued in a tone that booked no argument, "Sergeant Harris is relatively uninjured and will not be filing a complaint."

Cam nodded in agreement as Daniel looked back and forth between the two men; his expression going from concerned frustration to confusion.

"What are…what are you guys talking about," Daniel asked carefully.

Cam shot Teal'c a puzzled look before answering. "Harris," he said simply. At Daniel's continued look of confusion, he added, "you know the guy whose nose she broke last night while they were sparing!"

"She did what," Daniel exclaimed as his eyes widened in shock.

"It was an accident Jackson," Cam answered in amusement at Daniel's shock. "Harris should have ducked instead of…hey wait a sec, what did you think we were talking about?"

"Uh…"

"Come on Jackson, out with it. What's Princess done that's got you all riled up?"

"Nothing, it's nothing to worry about," Daniel said quickly.

Too quickly to the amusement of Cam and Teal'c, who shared a look before turning back to stare at Daniel.

"DanielJackson, if that were the case, you would not appear to be so concerned over ValaMalDoran!"

"Teal'c's right Jackson, so spill it!"

"I don't think…"

"DanielJackson," Teal'c interrupted him in mid sentence. "ValaMalDoran is a comrade and friend! If there is something amiss, we wish to offer our assistance."

"What he said," Cam agreed, jerking his thumb at Teal'c. "So what's going on with Princess?"

Daniel mentally debated with himself over whether or not to tell Cam and Teal'c the problem that Vala was having. While he knew Vala wouldn't want her personal turmoil spread around the base, he also knew that Cam and Teal'c saw Vala as a sister, an annoying little sister, but a sister none the less. Not only could they be trusted, but they would more than likely want to help, and truth be told, he could probably use the help when he talked to Landry.

Quickly looking around, to make sure no one was listening in, Daniel let out a sigh and leaned in closer to the other two men. "She's drunk,' Daniel said simply.

"Drunk," Cam repeated as he exchanged looks with Teal'c. "The girl doesn't get drunk Jackson! She can drink everyone in this mountain under the table, and that includes some of the toughest marines on the face of the planet!"

"Yeah well," Daniel explained, "she wasn't exactly going easy at it, or sticking to the local stuff, if you know what I mean."

Letting out a whistle at the news, Cam stared at Daniel with wide eyes. "Off-world moonshine! Where the heck did she get that, and how did she smuggle it back," he asked. At the silent, frustrated look from Daniel, and the amused one from Teal'c, Cam cracked a small grin, "Right stupid question."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed readily. "ValaMalDoran is an extremely intelligent and resourceful woman," Teal'c continued with a hint of admiration, before continuing in a concerned tone. "However, I do not believe that where she acquired her fermented beverages is germane to the situation. ValaMalDoran would not seek to become as inebriated as DanielJackson has indicated unless she was gravely troubled!"

"Teal'c's right," Cam readily agreed. "Vala can be a bit…irresponsible at times," he added with a slight grin, "but this…this definitely sounds like something's off!"

Daniel could only nod as Cam and Teal'c correctly identified that something was upsetting Vala.

"So," Cam continued, "the question is what or who," he settled his gaze on Daniel, 'is upsetting our girl!"

Teal'c merely nodded in agreement as he too settled his gaze on Daniel expectantly.

A bit unnerved by the looks the two men were giving him, Daniel averted his eyes and muttered, "Tomin…it's about Tomin."

Cam and Teal'c exchanged puzzled looks, which Daniel missed, over this revelation before turning their attention back to their teammate.

"What?"

"She misses Tomin," Daniel began slowly in a monotone, "I think she's beginning to regret her decision to stay behind when he left."

'That would be unlikely,' Teal'c said to himself. Casting a sideways glace at Mitchell, Teal'c cocked an eyebrow at this revelation before asking the question foremost on his mind. "What makes you believe this is the case DanielJackson."

"She told me." Daniel replied simply as a matter of fact, before adding, "I was hoping to talk to Landry, get her permission to go through the super-gate, and maybe…" he paused slightly in uncertainty, "maybe have her discharged."

"What! You can't be serious," Cam exclaimed as he stared in shock and disbelief, while Teal'c merely stared blankly, at Daniel's intentions.

Squaring off his shoulders, Daniel returned their stares with determination reflected in his eyes. "She's depressed," he defended himself.

"So you want to get her fired?"

"…."

"Damn it Jackson, are you out of your mind? She worked her ass off to get onto the team, not to mention to be accepted around here! If she misses Tomin, we can get her 'leave,' we don't have to kick her off the damn planet!"

"ColonelMitchell is correct," Teal'c interjected calmly, "ValaMalDoran can simply request a vacation."

Daniel shook his head, "you know it's not that easy! Teal'c, you can go off-world whenever you want, the IOA won't even let Vala leave the base without an escort." Daniel frowned as a memory of Vala's disappointment of being confined to the mountain flashed through his mind. Shaking off the memory he continued dryly, "somehow I doubt they'd approve of letting her come and go through the super-gate on a regular basis."

"I'm sure General Landry and General O'Neill will back the request," Cam added, "besides the IOA," his voice dripped with disgust, "owes us one, after that crap they tried to pull with the Replicator!"

"Maybe," Daniel replied absentmindedly as he considered the possibility. "But I don't…."

"Look Jackson," Cam interrupted, "the whole things a moot point. You don't even know if Vala wants to leave! I mean are you even sure this whole thing is what you think it is?"

"When I asked," Daniel bit out, "she told me it was her anniversary! That's pretty difficult to misinterpret."

Both Cam and Daniel missed the moment when Teal'c started slightly when Daniel mentioned Vala's anniversary. His thoughts immediately racing back over the years to a time that now only existed in his memories.

Cam frowned at the revelation. "That doesn't make… sense," Cam said hesitantly.

"What do you mean by that? How can it not make sense? It's her anniversary!"

"Well I'm not the super genius that Carter is, but my math skills are o.k." Cam began, only to have Daniel shoot him a look that clearly told him to get on with it. "Right, well I'm pretty sure she didn't meet Tomin anywhere around this time!"

"What are you…."

"Look Jackson, she basically showed up the same day I got command of SG-1, and believe you me, **I** know specifically when **that** 'anniversary' is, and it isn't for a couple of more months. And she didn't go missing in Ori land until a few months after that!"

Daniel's brows furrowed in confusion as he quickly did the math, putting together the established timeline.

"You're right," Daniel said absentmindedly. "Maybe she just got the date wrong, I mean things were pretty stressful for her at the time," he said in an unsure voice.

Cam looked at him blankly for a second before he began to shake his head in exasperation. "Jackson, Vala's a woman in case you haven't noticed," he spoke casting a look of pity at Daniel, "they tend to have a knack for remembering important dates no matter what's happening around them."

"Yes I have noticed, thank you very much," Daniel mumbled under his breath. "So if it isn't about Tomin, what else could it be?"

"Don't know," Cam responded with a shrug, "thought you said you talked to her?"

"I did!"

Cam merely regarded Daniel with his best Teal'c impression, that just screamed 'oh really?'

Head dropping to his chest, "o.k. maybe talked wasn't exactly what happened," Daniel mumbled.

"Jumped to conclusions again huh," Cam stated, more than asked, with a smirk. "You know you might want to stop doing that."

"Well, she said anniversary, what else could she have meant," Daniel defended himself. "God I wish Sam was still around!"

"While I am sure that ColonelCarter would be able to divine the source of ValaMalDoran's distress over female conversation," Teal'c spoke up from his silence, causing the two men to shift their attention to him, "it is not necessary. ValaMalDoran will confide in you DanielJackson," he continued with conviction. "You need only listen!"

Daniel stared at Teal'c as he took in what was said. Something in the way that Teal'c had spoken assured absolute certainty that Vala would open up to him if he'd just simply listen to her. While Cam looked like he agreed with Teal'c assessment, he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that Vala would completely open herself up to him.

"What makes you think she'll open up to me?"

"It may surprise you Jackson," Cam answered, "but I'm pretty sure she considers you her best friend."

Teal'c nodded his head in agreement, but Daniel wasn't really listening as his attention was drawn to the white in Teal'c's hair. A sudden thought came to him as he remembered Teal'c's silence when he had mentioned Vala's anniversary, and then later Teal'c's conviction that Vala would open up to him.

"You know what this is all about, don't you," he ventured, looking directly at Teal'c. Teal'c's silence spoke volumes to Daniel. "The Odyssey," he practically whispered, "this happened on the Odyssey didn't it?"

"It did," Teal'c said simply.

"So what's going on with Vala," Cam asked before Daniel could.

"It is not my place to reveal the nature of ValaMalDoran's affliction," Teal'c began much to the frustration of Daniel. "It is however, a trying time for ValaMalDoran. It was quite sometime afterwards before she revealed the nature of her afflictions to the rest of us. Suffice it to say, many memories assail her at this time."

"Not exactly something we probably wouldn't have already worked out," Cam chimed in.

Nodding, Daniel let his mind consider what Teal'c had revealed before asking with a pleading look, "is there anything you can tell us, that we can do to help Vala?"

Teal'c considered the question carefully, while Daniel and Cam stared at him with mixed looks of anticipation and concern. He was reluctant to reveal too much information for fear of negatively altering a possible future relationship between Daniel and Vala. Yet he could not help but feel slightly guilty that he had forgotten about Vala's 'anniversary,' even though from his perspective it had been years since she last suffered through it. And he knew that while one of the reasons was due to the unwavering support of her friends, the other had to do with Daniel Jackson.

Coming to a decision, Teal'c stared Daniel in the eyes and said simply, "know that ValaMalDoran received comfort and solace during that time by seeking you out to confide in."

Blinking quickly, Daniel swallowed in shock as Teal'c's words sunk in. It was a few moments later before he moved to get up. "Thanks," he said simply before nodding to the two men as he picked up his tray and left.

Watching as Daniel emptied his tray into the garbage and hurry out of the Mess Hall, Cam took a sip of his coffee before turning to regard Teal'c. "So, you think he'll be able to help her?"

"Indeed, I do ColonelMitchell."

"Don't suppose you're gonna tell me how he helped her on the Odyssey?"

"Indeed I am not ColonelMitchell," Teal'c replied with enigmatic smile gracing his features as he turned to finish his lunch, his mind racing back to that time on the Odyssey.

_**Flashback**_

_They were all worried about her. It had been about six months into their self-imposed exile from the rest of the universe. At first they had thought she was simply, like the rest of them, feeling trapped and restless. That thought however quickly turned to worry as she began to withdraw from the rest of them, even Daniel, for extended periods of time. _

_They'd tried talking to her, Sam had even orchestrated a 'girl's night' that failed to lighten Vala's mood. It was definitely worrisome. And now, Vala had disappeared again. This time however, they weren't going to let her get away without telling them what was wrong, and so the four of them set about searching the ship for their depressed friend._

_Teal'c had finished checking the lower levels of the ship and was making his way to check the crew quarters again when he heard voices coming from one of the lesser used gyms. Pausing outside the open door, he quietly peered in and smiled at the sight that greeted him. _

_There Daniel Jackson was sitting on a mat, back to the wall, holding tightly to Vala Mal Doran as she cried into his shoulder. Glancing up briefly, Daniel caught sight of Teal'c, who noticed his friend's slightly bruised and battered features, and gave him a small reassuring smile before turning back to the woman in his arms._

_Nodding in understanding, Teal'c moved to leave, intent on informing the others that Vala Mal Doran had been found and that Daniel Jackson, though slightly battered, was comforting her. _


	6. Chapter 6

Red-Letter Day

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 and maybe Memento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat, so maybe a couple of references to Ark of Truth.

**A/N: **I know its been a long wait and I'm terribly sorry for that, but things have been a bit busy around here lately, and my inspiration decided to take a little vacation without me (the ungrateful little bugger). Anyways, read, enjoy, and please leave a review.

**A/N2:** Too my fellow Canadians: Happy Canada Day! GOD, we look good for being only 141 ;)

XXXX

It was with a sense of déjà vu that Daniel found himself once again standing outside of Vala's quarters with his hand poised to knock. He must have presented quite the picture to anyone passing by, he thought warily to himself, as he lowered his hand without knocking to simply stare at the door.

He couldn't quite bring himself to face Vala after their 'misunderstanding.' Despite Teal'c's reassurance, it was difficult to believe that Vala would look past his accusations and open up fully to him. Yet, according to Teal'c, that seemed to have been the very case aboard the Odyssey in that alternate timeline that they had been trapped in. He and Vala's alternate selves must have progressed further in their friendship than was the case in this reality, he thought somewhat bitterly.

It was ridiculous, he told himself, he could not possibly be jealous of a version of himself that only existed in Teal'c's memories. Besides, he rationalized, there were only the six of them trapped in that alternate timeline, and no doubt his alternate self had to put in his share of 'Vala' duty. No that wasn't fair, he quickly corrected himself, truth be told he rather enjoyed Vala's company and her rather unique insights into his work and life in general, though he'd doubt he'll ever tell her that. Plus it only made sense that their…that all of their alternate selves would grow closer to each other in an effort to stave off the feelings of being cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

So really, he concluded to himself, it shouldn't have been a surprise that his and Vala's alternate selves would have gotten closer as friends. As much as he'd deny it, the two of them had had a bond since she'd beaten the crap out of him on board the Prometheus, one that had only gotten stronger since she walked through the Stargate and back into his life.

Daniel couldn't quite help the smirk that suddenly appeared on his lips as memories of the early days of their friendship flooded his memories. If anyone had told him that he would one day view a 'street smart' galactic thief with a perchance for tight leather clothing, sexual innuendo, and a knack for pushing his buttons as one of his closest and most trusted friends…well he would either have thought they were out of their minds and needed to be committed for psychiatric evaluation, or that he was being set up for another one of Jack's less than amusing pranks.

But the funny thing would have been that they would have been right. Despite their initial meeting, Vala had gone out of her way time and time again to prove that she was not only trustworthy, but also a reliable and staunch friend that would do anything for those she cared about. And he couldn't help but be proud to be one of the few privileged individuals who knew the real Vala Mal Doran underneath the tough space vixen/pirate exterior that she had worn for such a long time.

"_Jumped to conclusions again huh,"_ Mitchell's words broke into his thoughts, and immediately his feeling of pride turned to guilt and he winched involuntarily as the reality of why he was standing outside Vala's quarters came crashing back to him.

'It's the truth,' his inner voice whispered, much to his dismay and shame. He had come to count Vala as one of his closest friends. She trusted him implicitly, and yet he couldn't claim the same. Oh he trusted her in the field when their lives were on the line, but when something unexpected, that didn't involve running or fighting for their lives, came up he seemed to, as Mitchell said, jump to conclusions.

"Not anymore," Daniel whispered as he glared at the door before him. Vala didn't deserve his baseless accusations, he knew and he cringed slightly at the thought of possibly having further upset her by his actions.

Squaring his shoulders, Daniel quickly knocked on the door, before he could have second thoughts, determined to apologize to Vala and to hopefully hear her out, and hope that she'd let him help her with whatever it was that was bothering her.

"Vala…," he called tentatively, as he knocked on her door again, his voice sounding stronger than he felt.

XXXX

_The screams and shouts of anger followed her as she ran blindly through the woods. Pain coursed though her body as she ran for her life, she didn't know what to do, but she instinctively knew that there was only one avenue to safety. Periodically casting a look over her shoulder in fear, she continued to her mad run through the familiar woods towards the Stargate. _

After backtracking several times to throw off her pursuers, she finally stumbled out of the tree line into the clearing holding the Stargate. Luck it would seem was with her, her pursuers were all too blinded by rage, or simply didn't believe she would head towards such and obvious destination. In any event, she was grateful that the gate wasn't guarded as she cautiously made her way towards the DHD.

_Reaching the DHD, she let go of a breath she hadn't even realize that she had been holding as she made her way towards it. Casting one final look towards the direction she came from, she began to rack her brain for a 'safe' address to dial. _

_Deciding on a location, she quickly moved to punch in the address when a voice stopped her cold._

"_I've been waiting for you to show up," the voice said coldly as a shadowed figure stepped out from behind one of the edifices surrounding the gate._

"_Wha…," Vala stuttered as she took an involuntary step back from the DHD as she stared at the figure. "No," she whispered, shaking her head in denial, as she made out the familiar features of the figure._

"_Seems I know you too well," the person spat venomously as he moved towards Vala menacingly. _

_Shaking her head furiously, tears streaking down her face, Vala continued to step back as the figure moved towards her. "Please, you don't understand," she began to plead._

"_Shut up," he snarled, 'you must think me a fool if you think I'd believe any of your lies Vala!" _

_Vala froze at the pure hatred and venom that the man had spit her name out with. She couldn't move as it repeated itself. "Vala…Vala…Vala…."_

XXXX

Vala jerked awake from where she had collapsed in exhaustion, as the sound of her name continued to echo in her mind. Rolling over, she buried her face in her hands and tried to block out the voice from her dream.

A few seconds later she sat up and frowned in confusion as she realized the voice wasn't the one she expected, but was instead Daniel's, and instead of fading, it seemed to be getting more insistent.

Her frown darkened as she realized that Daniel's voice wasn't just in her head, but was instead coming from her door along with a series of insistent knocks.

"Great," Vala muttered to herself, "just what I needed; another lecture from Daniel." 'Maybe, he'll go away if I ignore him,' she thought to herself. That thought however was quickly dismissed with a snort, as she remembered how Daniel had barged in the last time she'd ignored him.

"Vala...," Daniel's voice once again interrupted her thoughts. "Vala…please open the door, I know you're in there….."

"Of course you do," Vala muttered darkly as she glared down at her forearm where the locator chip was implanted. Tearing her gaze away from her forearm as the knocking continued, she jumped out of bed with a snarl and moved purposely towards the door.

XXXX

"Vala," Daniel continued to knock, even as he briefly and quickly discarded the idea of using his key card to enter. No, he thought to himself, Vala had enough reasons to be angry with him. The last thing he needed to do was rile up her temper any more than he already has.

"Look Vala, I just…," Daniel tried to explain through the closed door, when it finally jerked open causing him to nearly fall over from having been leaning his head against it.

"Just what Daniel," Vala demanded ignoring the concerned look Daniel was giving her. "Just wanted to berate me some more for my irresponsibility; or tell me how utterly disappointed you are in me! Not that you haven't made that abundantly clear in the past!"

Daniel shook himself out of the stupor he found himself in when Vala had opened the door. He had been surprised at her frazzled appearance and red-rimmed eyes. He didn't want to admit that he was the one that caused the hurt/angry look that was currently gracing Vala's face. But he couldn't deny it, as Vala's angry words washed over him.

"No," Daniel tried to interrupt.

"Or," Vala continued, ignoring him, "maybe you've just come to make sure I didn't steal anything before you kick me through the gate! Well don't worry I wont steal the towels," she said sarcastically as shot him an angry look.

"Towels? What," Daniel began, but suddenly stopped as he came to his senses. "Vala," he pleaded, causing Vala to momentarily stop her tirade. "I came to apologize," he said quickly before she could start up again.

When Vala didn't respond, he continued, "I'm sorry, you…," he suddenly broke off as he glanced around at his surroundings, becoming uncomfortably aware of the fact that they were still in the hallway outside Vala's quarters. "Uh, could we talk inside," he asked hesitantly as he gestured to the room behind Vala.

"Please Vala," he said earnestly when Vala made no move to allow him entry.

Vala merely nodded her head at Daniel's pleading expression and wordlessly stepped aside to allow him to enter her room.

Daniel let out a brief side of relief as he walked over the threshold. He paused momentarily and cast Vala a look of concern when he noticed the sound of broken glass and wet liquid underneath his boots.

Vala returned his look with one of indifference as she moved past him to the other side of the room. Only when she was as far away as she could be from him did she turn around and wrap her arms around herself as she waited for Daniel to start speaking.

She was not going to make things easy for him, Daniel thought with a sigh, not that he didn't deserve her anger he told himself.

"Vala," Daniel began hesitantly, "I'm…I'm sorry for earlier! I had no right to talk to you the way I did."

"Damn right you didn't," Vala muttered darkly as she glared at Daniel.

Swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed at hearing Vala, Daniel began to pace as he continued to explain himself.

"It wasn't the drinking that I was mad about," he said simply,

What, Vala thought as her eyes narrowed in confusion at what Daniel was trying to say.

"Although, you really shouldn't have been drinking while on base," he added lightly, only to wince as Vala's look of confusion turned dark once more. "Sorry, sorry, it's just…, this is hard…."

"Out with it already," Vala demanded in a huff and a roll of her eyes, "the sooner you clear your conscious the sooner you can get back to concentrating on whatever it was that you were working on."

For a second, Daniel was torn between amazement at how well Vala had come to know him, and a deep sense of shame at how close her words had come to the truth. "Vala," Daniel began tentatively, "that's not true."

"Oh please Daniel," Vala said with a glare, "despite what some people might think, I'm not stupid! I can read the guilt on your face, as well as you can read ancient...Ancient!"

Daniel's lips twitched slightly at that. "I know you're not stupid Vala, you've proven that more than once," he said as he let his mind briefly wander to memories of Vala either helping him, Sam or various other members of the SGC, as well as her often heart stopping and insane outside of the box thinking. "More than you should have," he mumbled before letting out a sigh. He focused his eyes on hers, "and you're right, I was…I am feeling guilty about what happened earlier."

"Uh huh, well don't worry about it Daniel," Vala said somewhat dismissively, "now that you've apologized, you can go," she finished with a gestured towards the door.

God, she definitely wasn't making this easy for him, Daniel thought to himself as he took a tentative step towards her. "I'm not leaving until you let me explain why I reacted the way I did."

"There's really no need Darling," Vala replied as she shifted to the side in an effort to put more distance between herself and Daniel. "Besides," she continued while flashing Daniel a huge smile, "I've already forgiven you!"

"Yes there is," he insisted, "and no you haven't." He raised a hand to halt her protest, "first of all, you wouldn't be giving me that fake smile of yours if you did, and secondly," his voice suddenly took on a slightly bemused tone, "well secondly, you wouldn't let me off that easily, especially considering how much of an ass I was being towards you."

Ducking her head to hide her amusement, Vala remained silent even as she secretly agreed with him.

Daniel was slightly reassured as he caught the slight twinkle in Vala's eyes before she managed to duck her head and hide from his gaze. He waited, but as the seconds passed, it became obvious that she wasn't going to break her silence, not even to tease him about how he was going to regret bringing up his second point.

"Vala," he spoke softly, causing her to look at him. "I wasn't mad about the drinking, well not really," he admitted. "I was more shocked than anything else really, and…well it took me a while to figure out, but I was disappointed at myself, and I ended up jumping to conclusions and taking it out on you," he finished sheepishly as he averted his gaze.

Vala frowned in confusion as Daniel rambled on with his explanation. What the frell was that man going on about, she thought to herself. He said he was disappointed in himself, but 'why' she asked herself as she racked her brain for an explanation.

"Daniel…Daniel," she called trying to get his attention. "I don't understand," she said simply when he finally looked at her.

The question hung in the air, as Daniel briefly considered just how to answer her. "I wasn't mad, I was worried about you," he finally admitted. "I wasn't kidding when I said you could have gotten into trouble for drinking. But more so, I was worried about _**why**_ you ended up in that condition."

Vala immediately stiffened. She did not want to tell Daniel the reason for why she had been acting out of sorts for the past few days, especially considering the way he reacted the previous times she'd tried to tell him.

"There's nothing to worried about Darling," she deflected, "I was just bored and decided to have a little fun, guess I just got a little carried away," she finished dismissively with a sheepish look.

Daniel stood there studying Vala for several moments. His earlier conversation with Teal'c and Mitchell playing out in his mind in minute detail, even if it wasn't, he could tell that she was trying to dismiss the whole thing. Trying to get him to leave, so that she could go back to dealing with whatever was bothering her in her own way. He knew he could simply leave her to her own devices, but as much as he denied it, she meant too much to him to simply leave her be.

"Vala," he said softly, breaking the silence that had fallen between them, "you and I both know that's not the case."

"Well whatever do you mean Daniel?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Daniel responded. Before she could retort, he pressed on, "how about the fact that you were actually drunk. As I was reminded, you don't get drunk! And now that I think about it, you even told me yourself, when we were implanting those false memories, that the only time you get drunk was when you're really upset."

"Well, you're mistaken," Vala immediately countered.

"Vala, please just stop it," Daniel interrupted. "I know something's wrong, if you'd just talk…."

"Is this what this is," Vala interrupted in a flat emotionalist voice, having decided to switch tactics, "you come in here under the pretext of apologizing, just so you can interrogate me and satisfy your curiosity!"

"What! No Vala," Daniel moved towards her, only to have her side step him. "I really did come to apologize. You didn't deserve the way I talked to you! But you also have to understand that I'm worried about you, and that I want to help."

"Why," Vala asked flatly as she glared at him.

"Why," Daniel repeated.

"Yes Daniel, why! Why do you want to know, why do you even care?"

"How can you even ask that, "Daniel sputtered in shock, "of course I care, I'm your friend!"

Letting out a bitter laugh, Vala shook her head in denial before locking her eyes on Daniel's. "Are you sure about that Daniel, cause people like me don't have friends," she stated simply.

"You don't mean that Vala," Daniel exclaimed reeling from her proclamation. Where the hell was this coming from, he asked himself. "I'm your friend, so is the rest of the team, Sam, Cam, Teal'c, Mitchell, Jack, and a host of others whose lives you've managed to worm yourself into!"

"Believe me Daniel, you don't want to be my friend," she responded flatly, "I'm a liar and a thief; isn't that what you told General Landry?"

Daniel visibly recoiled at having those harsh words that he had spoken all those years ago thrown back in his face. "Vala, I didn't…."

"Yes you did Daniel," Vala interrupted, having anticipated his denial, "I'm not only a liar and a thief, I'm worse…a lot worse…" she trailed off as she stared blankly at a point behind Daniel.

"That's enough Vala," Daniel shouted as he stepped in front of Vala and grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. "You may have been those things once, but you aren't anymore. You've proven yourself to be more than the space pirate you made yourself out to be. God," Daniel exclaimed as he shook his head, "I don't even know when I stopped thinking about you as that pirate. Half the time, I can't even reconcile the beautiful, strong, caring, loyal, intelligent, energetic, funny woman I know with the uncaring thief that she tried to hide behind."

"Your blinded Daniel," Vala mumbled as she shook her head.

"No," Daniel murmured as he pulled her into his arms, "you're the one who's blinded. Whatever it is that's been bothering you," he continued soothingly, stroking her hair as he felt her beginning to break down, "may have made you forget who you are, but I won't, and I won't leave you either, I promise."

"What if I want you to leave," Vala asked so quietly that if Daniel hadn't of been holding her close to him, he would never of heard her.

"Doesn't matter," he pulled away, bending slightly so he could see her face clearly, "still won't leave. And," he challenged playfully, "you can try anything to get rid of me, but I won't go, not this time!"

"Why," Vala gazed into his eyes as if searching for something.

"Because, I care about you," Daniel began fondly, "and because a certain annoyingly persistent friend of mine, who despite my best efforts, wouldn't let me wallow in my own self-imposed destructive guilt trip."

Vala smiled slightly at the memory and the half remembered words that she had once said to Daniel. "And I suppose you're going to take after her example, and not leave me alone aren't you?"

"What can I say," Daniel said with a grin, "I learned from the best!"

"I hate her already," Vala huffed.

Daniel's grin grew larger and he chuckled slightly as he replied, "she grows on you."

"So," Daniel asked, after a brief pause, "are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Vala ducked her head and remained silent as she broke away from Daniel and moved to sit on her bed.

"I know it's not easy," Daniel said softly as he moved to sit beside her. Taking her hand in his, he gave it a soft squeeze, "but talking about it does help, it doesn't have to be with me, but I'm willing to listen."

She didn't know how or why, but something in Daniel's tone resonated within her, demanding that she open herself to him in the hopes of achieving some sort of forgiveness. "I don't know where to start," Vala said quietly as she gazed down on their clasped hands.

"Just start with why this time of the year has always bothered you," Daniel said encouragingly.

Vala's head shot up instantly at having heard what Daniel had said. "How," she asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Teal'c," Daniel said simply.

"He knows!"

"Yeah," Daniel said simply, "but he didn't say anything, said it wasn't his place," he reassured.

Vala nodded at that, grateful that Teal'c hadn't and wouldn't say anything about this time of the year.

"So," Daniel carefully asked again, fearing he already knew the answer, "why does this time of the year bother you so much."

Vala let out one shaky breath after another as she composed herself before she focused her gaze on Daniel's face.

Daniel could only look on in shock as Vala stared at him with dead eyes and replied in a detached voice, "Vala Mal Doran died…."


	7. Chapter 7

Red-Letter Day

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 (Ties that Bind) and maybe Memento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat, so maybe a couple of references to Ark of Truth.

**A/N: **Well, next bit is up. Figure there's one more chapter and an epilogue to go before this story is finished. Anyways, read, enjoy, and please leave a review.

XXXX

"_So," Daniel carefully asked again, fearing he already knew the answer, "why does this time of the year bother you so much."_

_Vala let out one shaky breath after another as she composed herself before she focused her gaze on Daniel's face. _

Daniel could only look on in shock as Vala stared at him with dead eyes and replied in a detached voice, "Vala Mal Doran died…."

XXXX

Daniel momentarily stiffened at Vala's words. To say that he was shocked would have been an understatement. Of all the things that Vala could have said or revealed, this didn't even come close to what he would have expected. He had expected her to maybe talk about being taken as a host, but this, this took him completely off guard. So he sat there silently; only vaguely aware that Vala was still speaking, his mind was busy trying to wrap itself around what Vala was talking about.

What did she mean, by saying that Vala Mal Doran was dead? It simply didn't make any sense to him. At first he thought she was referring to when she was taken as a host for Qetesh, but if that were the case, surely she would have simply said that, after all, her time as a 'goddess' was known. No that wasn't it. Something in the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes told him differently. And the only thing that came to mind was that Vala wasn't really Vala, that it was an assumed persona. But that made even less sense to him, after all why would someone willingly take on the identity of a Goa'uld host; but than again, she did impersonate Qetesh more than once in the past, Daniel reminded himself, so it wasn't entirely outside of the realm of probability.

The sudden thought that Vala wasn't the woman that they, that he, had come to know over the last few years sent a queasy feeling deep into the pit of his stomach. But he quickly pushed the feelings of anger, disappointment and unease into a corner of his mind as he considered that possibility. The conclusion he came to, surprised him as he realized that it really didn't matter, at least not anymore. She had not only proven herself time and time again, but he had also known that Vala, or whoever she really was, hid behind a persona of intense sexuality and would often deflect questions concerning her past. Yet there were times, which had become more frequent he mused, when they were alone, that she would drop her defences, and he would catch a glimpse of the woman behind the mask. Those were times that he found himself dra…; he quickly shook his head to get rid of that train of thought, and forcibly brought his mind back to the current situation.

XXXX

Vala had stopped talking the moment she had felt Daniel shaking his head. She turned her head and brought her gaze to stare directly at Daniel. Judging by his furrowed eyebrows and set jaw, she could tell he was not only lost in thought but also extremely confused by what she was talking about.

'Heh,' she thought to herself, knowing Daniel he probably missed what little she said after telling him that Vala Mal Doran had died. Her lips twitched a little at being able to shock Daniel into silence. Granted she was being melodramatic, she supposed, but it was the truth, sort of, well…how did that character from those movies that Teal'c enjoyed so much put it…ah yes, 'from a certain point of view.'

Still, she thought, maybe she should have been a bit less melodramatic in her opening statement. Especially judging by the way Daniel's brows furrowed together like that, he was no doubt conjuring up a host of explanations to explain just exactly what she had meant.

'Best not to let his thoughts wander,' she told herself, as she continued to study Daniel's facial expressions. It was bad enough that this was essentially the third time that she was opening up about her past to Daniel, she wasn't sure she was up to repeating herself for a fourth time.

Tentatively placing a hand on Daniel's upper arm, she gave it a hesitant squeeze, "Daniel," Vala spoke firmly, trying to project firmness into her voice, as she tried to rouse him from his thoughts.

XXXX

Daniel was startled out of his reverie as Vala's voice broke into his thoughts. Though her tone was firm, it was the underlying wariness that had caught his attention and forced him to focus his gaze on her.

The sight of her shocked him, she had become deathly pale; it seemed that while his mind was lost in contemplation, she had continued talking, and whatever it was she had to say was taking a toll on her. Not for the first time that day, he cursed himself.

"I'm sorry Vala, you caught me off guard there," he apologized sheepishly. "You seem to have a knack for it," he added lightly.

Her lips twitched slightly, "What can I say Daniel? You're just so easy," she quipped.

Smiling slightly, he noticed that despite her small smile, her eyes still remained blank of any emotions. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze of support.

"So," he began tentatively after a few minutes of awkward silence, "want to try it again? I'm not sure I understand what you were trying to say"

The response he received was a fierce shake of her head.

"Vala, I know this is…" he began but was cut off as Vala abruptly stood up and walked over to the far wall. He watched her as she wrapped her arms around herself and let out a deep breath as if she were gathering her courage up for a battle.

Focussing her eyes on a distant part of the wall, she seemed to stare right through it. "This isn't the way I thought my life would turn out," she finally replied.

'Okay,' Daniel thought to himself as he frowned at this new topic. Vala was certainly taking a roundabout way of telling him what was going on. At least he hoped it was a roundabout way and not an attempt to confuse and confound him until he left in frustration.

"Vala, could you, maybe elaborate a little," he ventured carefully. "You're still not making much sense."

Vala jerked her gaze away form the wall and settled her eyes on Daniel. "It makes perfect sense, Darling," she replied. A self-depreciating smile suddenly adorned her lips as she asked, "haven't you ever wonder how I became what I am? How I became a lying, thieving outcast living on the fringes of society."

Daniel immediately tried to refute her self-description, but Vala was faster.

"Of course you didn't," Vala replied to her own question, "you probably thought I was always like this didn't you? A product of Jacek's superb," she spat the words out, "parenting skills."

"I never…" Daniel began to deny, but thought better of it when Vala's gaze hardened, daring him to lie. "Well, alright," he shamefully admitted, "I did think that on occasion, but briefly," he defended himself. "As for Jacek, well…" he replied with a shake of his head, "after that whole fiasco, I did kind of figure he was responsible for your choice of profession," he finished diplomatically.

"Humph, well, you'll be pleasantly surprised that I wasn't always like this," she replied as her eyes took on a wistful look. "And Mother, after she discovered that Jacek took me on a few of his 'jobs,' not only made sure he was supervised when he was with me," her lips quirked up into a smirk, before dropping into a frown, "but she also made sure that I knew the difference between right and wrong, and the dangers associated with Jacek's 'profession,' as you so kindly refer to it as."

Daniel was surprised at this revelation, Vala hardly ever talked about her mother, in fact the only thing he could remember her ever saying about her was the comment of about inheriting all her good qualities, including her looks and accent.

"Oh don't get me wrong," Vala continued, oblivious to Daniel's thoughts, "Mother loved Jacek, for some reason, but she wasn't blind to his faults." Her expression softened as she reminisced, "she wanted a better life for me. One with a strong, kind, intelligent man who would care for me the way I deserved. One," she smiled wickedly, "who would be able to provide her with lots and lots of grandchildren."

Daniel immediately flushed as an image of Vala cradling a dark haired blue-eyed infant to her chest flashed through his mind. "Where the hell did that come from," he mumbled to himself, before forcing the image out of his mind.

"Uh, not to sound insensitive or anything," Daniel interrupted. "But, what exactly does this have to do with you saying that you're …well…dead?"

She shrugged, "nothing and everything."

"Vala," he prodded.

Vala let out a sigh as she responded. "Well, you're the one who usually wants to know all the details. And this way…" she took in a shaky breath, "this way you won't have any questions, and I won't have to remem…repeat anything."

Daniel nodded in understanding.

She dropped her arms to her side and began to twist her hands nervously as she continued. "Anyways, to make the long story a little shorter for your convenience," she ignored the protest being uttered, "I met Kaien…"

Daniel watched silently as Vala paused in mid sentence as she held her eyes closed and took in a huge breath. She was fighting to hold her composure, to keep her emotions in check… and she was failing. It was becoming more and more obvious that whoever this Kaien was, and he had his suspicions, that he was at the heart of whatever was plaguing Vala.

"Kaien," Daniel prompted gently.

Exhaling a ragged breath, "My fiancé," Vala choked out, her voice a mixture of self-recrimination and loss.

"Fiancé," Daniel mumbled in thought. He knew Vala had been 'married' quite a few times, as a result of some scam or unforeseen circumstances, but it was painfully obvious to him that this man was different, wasn't a 'mark' in some scam.

Something nudged at the back of Daniel's mind as he processed this new piece of information; quietly considering its place in the puzzle that was Vala Mal Doran. Suddenly his eyes widened in shock as a half-forgotten, yet similar, conversation filtered its way into his consciousness.

XXXX

Flashback

_Doing his best to avoid gazing at her long shapely legs as she sits povacatively on his bed. "Yeah. You live a solitary existence," Daniel replied matter of factly, as he begins to count items off on his fingers, "you move from place to place, you never form any lasting relationships, you use sex as a weapon to prevent yourself from forming any real emotional bonds." _

"_Textbook case," Vala comments sadly. "Never realized I was so transparent."_

_She gets up and starts to leave, hurt. _

"_Vala…"_

"No really it's—it's fine Daniel, you're right." Vala spits out emotionally, even as she scrambled to put on her robe. "I can see why you wouldn't want to become involved with someone so pathetic. I wasn't always like this, you should know. There was someone once. In fact, I was engaged. Then I was taken as a host and, even though the Tok'ra eventually freed me, the damage was already done. And once you have been spat on, and stoned by the people of your own village… Well, you try forming lasting relationships."

XXXX

Daniel would have fallen had he not been sitting down at the moment. "Oh God," He whispered to himself in shock as the memories of that day, and the way he had eventually dismissed her story as a way to 'mess with him,' were brought back into clear focus.

"That…that day," he choked, "when I found…."

Vala simply nodded, glad for the slight distraction.

"But…but…you told me you were messing with me," Daniel sputtered, still in shock.

"If you recall, I said, 'Is it working?'" Vala replied, "not that I was actually messing with you."

"There's a difference," Daniel, mentally slapped himself when he couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"You're the linguist Darling, you tell me!"

Vala shook her head at the perplexed look on Daniel's face, and decided to take pity on him. "I never said I was messing with you Daniel. Everything that I said that night was true, and it surprised the frell out of me," her voice dropped to a near whisper. "I never told anyone about that time! Yet for some odd reason I wanted you to know, wanted you to trust me…wanted you to know I wasn't the despicable creature you thought I was. It scared me to feel that way, to think you might suddenly pity me, and then," her lips twitched up into a small depreciating grin, "then you gave me the perfect out."

Daniel sat there stunned, she was right; she neither confirmed nor denied anything that day. She had simply let him draw his own conclusions, conclusions that he was only too willing to accept as the truth.

"Vala, I'm…"

"Don't apologize," Vala looked at him sharply, "I didn't want your pity! You gave me an 'out' and I took it." Suddenly a familiar smirk graced her features, "besides I was really quite flattered that you thought that I could come up with such an emotional story, on such short notice, just to get you into bed," she said lightly.

'Only Vala would find a compliment, where anyone else would have been insulted,' Daniel mused to himself, even as he dismissed her attempt to lighten the mood. He could tell that she was trying to buy time, trying to compose herself before continuing.

His own emotions raged in sympathy as he watched Vala fighting to control her emotions. When he saw the first tear slip out and run freely down her cheek despite her best efforts, he couldn't help his own actions. Acting without thought, he immediately stood and moved to envelope Vala into a reassuring embrace.

Instead of welcoming his embrace, as she would normally, she raised her hand to keep him at arms length. She wiped the tears away with the back of her other hand and ducked her head. "Don't," she said brokenly, "If…if you start getting all comforting and Daniel like, I…I don't think I'll be able to…"

"Than don't," Daniel interrupted. "You don't have to tell me anymore Vala. I understand…."

Shaking her frantically, "No, no you don't Daniel," Vala cut him off.

"Vala…"

"I killed him Daniel," Vala cried out.


	8. Chapter 8

Red-Letter Day

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 (Ties that Bind) and maybe Memento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat, so maybe a couple of references to Ark of Truth.

**A/N:** Well, long time in coming, but I think this is going to be it for this story. With the exception of an epilogue, so still one more to go. Hope everything in this chapter makes sense and explains why Vala would be carrying around pain and guilt. And in case any of you haven't figured it out, apparently 'red-letter day' refers to an anniversary, or at least that's what my thesaurus says. Anyways, read, enjoy, and please leave a review.

XXXX

"_Than don't," Daniel interrupted. "You don't have to tell me anymore Vala. I understand…."_

_Shaking her frantically, "No, no you don't Daniel," Vala cut him off._

"_Vala…"_

"I killed him Daniel," Vala cried out.

XXXX

Daniel closed his eyes tightly at the anguish in Vala's voice. Not for the first time, since Vala strutted into his life, he found himself cursing Qetesh for forcing Vala into a life of unimaginable horror.

"It wasn't your fault," he found himself automatically saying. "Qetesh, forced y…"

"No," Vala exclaimed vehemently, "I killed him! Me, not Qetesh!"

Daniel moved forward, easily pushing pass Vala's restraining hand, and grabbed her head with both hands, forcing her to look him directly into his eyes."

"Listen to me Vala," he forced every bit of confidence and strength he had into his voice, "you had no control over what Qetesh forced you to do. She killed Kaien! Not you!"

"You don't understand," Vala replied as she struggled to escape his grasp. "Qetesh had let him live, I was the one that did it, that plunged the blade into his body!"

He had always known that Vala harboured the guilt of not being able to do anything to stop Qetesh and the atrocities that she had performed with Vala's own hands. But this, this was something else entirely.

"Vala," Daniel spoke slowly and with conviction, "she was obviously manipulating you. Giving you the illusion of control."

Vala shook her head fiercely and broke free from his hold. Moving away from him, she wrapped her arms around her and looked at him.

Daniel felt his heart break as she looked at him. Her eyes were completely free of either the guarded look or the playful look that she often wore. It was a look that reflected pain and sorrow. He'd seen it several times, since he met her, once, after her revival by the Prior, and than when she had been demanding that they let her leave after thinking she had failed her psyche evaluation. Each time tore at his heart, and each time he desperately hoped to never see it on her face ever again.

"You don't understand, you can't…"

He simply wasn't getting through to her, and from what Teal'c had said, she had lived with this undeserved guilt for a long time. He silently cursed Qetesh under his breath. "Than explain it to me," he replied firmly, his eyes pleading with her. "Make me understand."

"Vala, you were there for me," Daniel ventured when she simply bit her lip before shaking her head. "Let me be here for you. Please!"

Confusion graced her features for a few moments as she tried to place the context of Daniel's statement. She let out a small gasp as she suddenly remembered coming across her Daniel depressed and withdrawn. Despite the warnings of her teammates, she had confronted him and forced him to talk to her. She had learned a lot about Sha're and the guilt Daniel carried that day.

'Daniel would understand,' a voice in the back of her mind whispered to her. Yet she had thought the same of others in the past….

"Vala, I won't abandon you," Daniel interjected, having recognized the uncertainty and fear that flashed across her face.

"I…I…"

"Do you trust me," Daniel asked earnestly, as he moved to stand before her, bending his knees slightly so that he could peer up into her eyes.

Vala nodded without hesitation, and Daniel let out the breath he hadn't even realised that he had been holding.

"Good," Daniel said simply, as he gently took her hand in his and led her back to the bed. Sitting down, he gently tugged her down beside him, keeping her hand in his grip.

"You can tell me Vala," Daniel encouraged gently when Vala simply sat there in silence.

"It was after," Vala mumbled after several minutes.

"After, you were taken," Daniel supplied helpfully.

"No," was the flat reply.

Daniel was slightly taken aback, "What?"

"It was after," she tried to reply in the same flat tone, but Daniel managed to catch the hitch in her voice. "I killed him after I was freed."

Daniel couldn't help but stiffened beside her in shock. He had been so sure she was caught up in the memory of one of the horrors Qetesh had forced her to participate in. Yet here she was virtually admitting to killing the man she was once going to marry in cold blood. It didn't make sense, there had to be a reason. Vala, he knew, didn't kill unless she had no other choice; she'd proven that on the Prometheus.

Vala had closed her eyes, when she felt Daniel stiffen beside her, to avoid seeing the look of disgust that she expected to adorn his face. Her eyes widened in surprise, when he gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance and she caught sight of his concerned expression.

"What happened Vala," he asked gently, voiced laced with concern.

"I was stupid," was her simple reply.

"How?"

"I hung on," she whispered so low that Daniel almost didn't hear her.

"I don't understand," Daniel replied, as confusion marred his features.

Vala paused in thought, trying to think of a way to explain things that Daniel would be familiar with.

"Sha're," Vala began carefully, aware that Daniel still felt the loss after all this time. "Do you remember telling me about when she had control, when Amaunet released control over because of the Harcesis?"

Daniel nodded slowly, unsure where Vala was going with this.

"Do you remember telling me why she didn't contact you?"

"She was afraid of how I would react, what I would do," Daniel responded, voice tight. "Vala what does this…"

"She was smart," she interrupted, and Daniel felt as if she had just slapped him.

"What…" Daniel tried to demand, but was interrupted again.

"She was smart," she repeated, "she loved you, but wasn't sure how you would deal with what had happened to her. So she ran to the only person who she felt would give her unconditional understanding…her father. It's what I should have done," she paused for a moment, "well not the running to Jacek part," she gave him a strained smile, "rather the running away part."

Daniel suddenly felt the confusion fall away, as comprehension suddenly dawned on him, followed by Vala's voice whispering in the back of his mind. _"And once you have been spat on, and stoned by the people of your own village…"_ He suddenly looked at her in horror as his mouth went dry.

"You went home," was the only thing he could utter.

"It was because of what Mother had always told me," Vala said brokenly, "about being loved and accepted, about," she paused as a sob escaped.

Daniel did the only thing he could do; he pulled her into his chest, and encircled her with his arms. ""Sh…sh…it's o.k.," Daniel muttered quietly into her hair as he began to gently rub her back."

Vala found herself relaxing as Daniel tried to comfort her. Tucking her head into his shoulder, she drew strength from him as she continued. "And…well, what she said, the ideas she encouraged, and the memories of what she wanted for me and thought I deserved…they kept me sane, gave me a reason to fight while I was living that nightmare."

She shuddered, "I spent ten years trapped in my own body, but I held onto those thoughts, held onto the belief that those I cared about would help me." She flicked her eyes briefly towards Daniel. "It kept me going when Qetesh ravished planets, tortured and killed millions, and whenever she used my body for her perverse pleasures." She took a deep breath, not even sparing Daniel a glance as she plunged ahead, her voice shaky but rising. "It even kept me going when Qetesh forced my consciousness to the forefront when she was overthrown and was being tortured, beaten and raped by her former slaves!"

When Daniel tightened his hold on her, she calmed down slightly. "I was a mess," she stated depreciatingly, tears running freely. "When the Tok'ra," she spat the name out, "finished with their turn and decided to 'free' me from Qetesh."

Daniel was a bit puzzled at the vehemence in her voice over the Tok'ra, he had his suspicions, which went beyond their role in overthrowing Qetesh, but he decided to leave those questions for sometime in the future, and instead focussed on Vala's words.

"When I finally escaped from the Tok'ra," she paused to collect herself, "I headed straight home."

XXXX

Flashback

Her breath hitched as she slowly walked through the village square, her eyes darting in every direction as she took in the sights of her home, even as she slowly made her way towards her destination. She only hoped that HE was still there.

_So lost in memory, she failed to notice the whispers and tentative glances that were being thrown in her direction by the people she passed by. Nor did she notice them as they began to follow her at a distance, attracting more and more people to the ever-growing crowd._

_It was only when the quite murmurings finally reached her ears that she stopped and turned around. Her eyes widened and she took an involuntary step back as she gazed at the assembled crowd watching her with hooded eyes and wary glances._

_Her eyes began to blur as she recognized many of them. She raked her memories for their names. Taking a tentative step forward, she failed to notice the furtive looks that the villagers shot to each other. Her eyes were scanning the crowd, searching for one particular face. She let out a gasp when her eyes landed on him, and she was shocked to see his hate filled eyes staring back at her._

"_Kaien…" she whispered as she reached her hand out towards him, only to real back as a stone suddenly struck her in the forehead. _

_For a moment all was quite and no one moved. The crowd glanced around fearfully, a few moving away from an angry middle-aged man, who had obviously thrown the stone, as they awaited her inevitable fury. _

_Still reeling from the pain, Vala tentatively brought her hand to the spot where she was struck to feel the injury. Feeling something wet, she pulled back her hand and stared in shock and fear at the blood covering her hand. Pulling her gaze away from her own blood, she looked fearfully back at the murmuring crowd that had been awaiting her reaction._

_And suddenly it was as if a signal had been heard, and the agitated crowd, embolden by her lack of reprisal, and the fear that she radiated, began to surge towards her._

"_Demon," someone shouted._

"_Kill her," and a host of other words were shouted throughout the crowd._

_She raised her hands in a futile defensive gesture as the first of the rocks were hurled at her, striking her painfully. _

"_Stop, please" she shouted, "I'm not her, I'm not Qetesh…she's gone…please you know me…it's me Vala" she pleaded, but her cries fell on death ears, as more and more of the crowd picked up whatever they could to throw at her._

_As the stones continued to plummet her, despite her attempts to shield herself, she was suddenly reminded of her treatment at the hands of another group of enraged villagers; and so she began to run, tearing her way through the encircling crowd and their clawing hands._

_She ran through the village, through the alleys, always narrowly avoiding the groups trying to box her in, and always trying to ignore the pain being brought on by both the shouts of anger and the rocks that were continuously striking her back. _

_Running on instinct, the memories of her childhood eventually guided her through to the outer limits of the village. Taking one last glance over her shoulder, she fled into the woods, her pursuers close behind her._

XXXX

"I spent hours running through those woods," Vala continued in a monotone, "running from the people I grew up with, people I respected and cared for."

Daniel sat there stunned. He'd always heard that former hosts, what few there were, were never well received or even treated well. But listening to these horrors that Vala had suffered from her own people, simply shocked him. He felt the rage of injustice well up in the pit of his stomach, and if not for Vala clinging to him as she continued her story, he might very well have gated to her home planet and made them pay for causing her the pain she was feeling. So instead, he tightened his hold on her as he listened.

"It was when I finally managed to lose them that I began to realise that I could never go back." She cast a glance at Daniel, and at his encouraging nod, she continued. "I decided to laid down a false trail before heading back towards the stargate."

XXXX

_She had managed to lose her pursuers after doubling back several times, until she was sure they were no longer following her. Letting out a sigh of relief, she scanned the immediate area from her hiding place behind a cluster of trees. Seeing no sign of guards around the gate, she gave a silent 'thank you' to gods that she no longer believed in, and made her way carefully towards the DHD. _

_Reaching the DHD, she let go of the breath she hadn't even realize that she had been holding as she made her way towards it. Casting one final look towards the direction she came from, she began to rack her brain for a 'safe' address to dial. _

_Deciding on a location, she quickly moved to punch in the address when a familiar voice stopped her cold._

"_I've been waiting for you to show up," the voice said coldly as a shadowed figure stepped out from behind one of the edifices surrounding the gate._

"_Wha…," Vala stuttered as she took an involuntary step back from the DHD as she stared at the figure. "No," she whispered, shaking her head in denial, as she made out the familiar features of the figure._

"_Seems I know you too well," the person spat venomously as he moved towards Vala menacingly. _

_Shaking her head furiously, tears streaking down her face, Vala continued to step back as the figure moved towards her. "Please, you don't understand," she began to plead._

"_Shut up," he snarled, "you must think me a fool if you think I'd believe any of your lies Vala!" _

_Vala continued to move away from the approaching figure, her head shaking furiously in denial. "Please Kaien, you have to understand it wasn't me…it was Qetesh…I tried to stop her," she urgently tried to explain._

"_Enough," Kaien spat, "I should have listened to those who warned me about you! Adria was right! Your soul is tainted and blackened! Why else would a demon so easily join with you! I can't believe I ever allowed myself to fall for you!" _

"_No, it wasn't…" she continued to try to defend herself, but was cut off as Kaien lunged at her with a knife in his hand. _

"_It's time that you paid for what you've done to me and the rest of MY people," he snarled as he slashed at her._

_Vala screamed as he narrowly missed her, even as she continued to try to dodge the enraged man. _

"_What's wrong," he mocked. "Afraid to fight without your precious Jaffa holding your opponents down!"_

_As the confrontation continued, Vala found her body instinctively reacting to the threat. For the first ever, she actually felt grateful that Qetesh had conditioned and trained her body. As she continued to dodge, her eyes desperately searched for any advantage, and when an opening finally emerged she lashed out with her leg kicking the knife away. But in doing so, she dropped her own guard, and she suddenly grunted as she found a hard fist slamming into her stomach._

_Hunched over in pain, she looked up only to see a large fist slam into her face, sending her dizzily to the forest floor. As she tried to get back up, a foot came down hard on her back, pushing her back into the ground. _

"_It's where you belong," the hate filled voice spoke._

"_Please," Vala managed to utter, before she felt herself being forcibly rolled over onto her back. She looked up fearfully as Kaien sat astride her and wrapped his hands around her throat._

_Vala let out a frightened painful gasp as she felt her throat being crushed. She opened her mouth and tried to beg for her life, but no sound would come out. Her frantic attempts to force him off of her were futile, as Kaien ignored the weak punches and various scratches that she inflicted upon him. In fact her defiance only seemed to urge him onward as he increased the pressure._

_As her vision began to turn blurry, Vala desperately cast her hand around the ground for anything that might help her. Her hand suddenly came into contact with something wooden and she immediately closed her grip around it. With one last desperate surge of strength she brought the object down hard into Kaien's side._

_Kaien's eyes widened in surprise and his grip around Vala's throat loosened as he suddenly felt the pain permeating his body. _

_Vala taking full advantage of the distraction quickly pushed Kaien off of her and rolled away as she desperately tried to gulp in air to feed her oxygen-starved lungs._

_It was only when she heard the painful moan from behind her that she forced herself to look at Kaien. Her eyes widened in horror as her gaze fell on the bloody knife hilt that was sticking out of his side just underneath his ribs._

"_No, no, no, no," she murmured as she rushed to his side and knelt down beside him. "I'm so sorry…so sorry," she said as she tried to examine the wound, only to have her hands batted away._

"_Get away from me!"_

"_Let me help you," Vala pleaded as she began to rummage in the small pouch, attached to her hip, for the healing device she had managed to 'borrow' from the Tok'ra._

"_You've done enough demon," Kaien spat weakly, as he tried to shove her away._

"_Damn it Kaien! I know you hate me, but you'll die if you don't let me help you."_

"_Lest… I wou…wouldn't be tainted by your witchery," he stuttered. "Now get away from me," he yelled as he gathered his strength and roughly shoved her aside._

"_Stubborn, hardheaded bastard," Vala exclaimed as she moved back towards her former fiancé. She leaned over him, determination on her face, "I'm going to save you, so just shut-up."_

_The only response Vala received was a hate filled glare and a face full of spit. Wiping the bloody saliva off her face, she ignored the vicious curses ringing in her ears and the tears that were threatening to fall, as she leaned back on her heels and raised the healing device._

"_Kaien," Several voices exclaimed, causing Vala to break her concentration and look up. She silently cursed as she noticed the group of people running towards them, rage apparent in their faces even at that distance._

_She bit her bottom lip as she looked back at Kaien and than the rapidly approaching group, torn between escaping and trying to heal the man before her. _

_Her decision however was made when an arrow sailed past her face. Quickly scrambling to her feet, she ran towards the DHD, as arrows flew around her. Nearly colliding into the pedestal she quickly began to punch in the first address that came to mind. Before the wormhole had even fully formed, she had already begun to run towards the gate. Pausing at the mouth of the gate she took one last look behind her, noticing several of the approaching group stopping to help their fallen friend, even while the rest continued after her. _

_Just as she turned to enter the wormhole, a final arrow struck her in the back of her shoulder, sending her stumbling into the vortex._

XXXX

"Luckily I ended up on an abandoned planet," Vala concluded, "still, the first chance I could think clearly, I gated off that planet before they could come after me."

Daniel stilled his movements as he glanced down at the woman huddled in his arms, desperately clutching at his BDUs as she recounted the horrors of her past. He was torn between admiration at her ability to survive such trauma, and anger over those who had caused her this pain.

It was all becoming painfully clear to him, her references to her mother, to this Kaien and her comments about being dead. She hadn't literally meant that a Vala Mal Doran was dead, for which he inexplicably felt relieved. She was referring to the person that she was, to the person that she had hoped to be, had wanted to be. She was in mourning for the person that she had once been, for the past that no longer welcomed her, and for the life that she been robbed of before it had even started.

For a moment Daniel was reminded of how his own life had suddenly taken a new direction, when Sha're had been abducted. As such, he couldn't help but marvel at the tragic kinship that he shared with Vala. The only difference being that he had Jack, SG-1 and a purpose to keep him going. Vala had no one to rely on but herself to keep herself going. Looking down at her, he once again he marvelled at her inner strength, even as he desperately tried to find something to say.

"It wasn't your fault Vala," he finally said, his tone heavy with conviction.

Feeling Vala shaking her head against his chest, he pulled back slightly and forced her to look at him. "It wasn't,' he reiterated, "he attacked you, you had no choice but to defend yourself."

"That's where you're wrong Daniel," Vala replied calmly, "I had a choice!"

"And what choice would that have been Vala," Daniel asked, "to die."

At her silence, a look of incredulousness settled across his face, and he snapped. "No," he exclaimed loudly, causing Vala to flinch. "That was not an option, and it'll **never** be an option! Understand?"

Shocked at the heavily mixed emotions in Daniel's declaration, Vala could only nod mutely in reply.

Sighing, Daniel shook his head and made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Vala from now on. "This is why you've been on edge the last few days hasn't it," Daniel ventured, his tone trying to convey a calmness that he didn't feel.

Vala nodded again, refusing to meet his eyes.

"You know," Daniel tried another track, "he could still be alive. We could…"

"No," Vala interrupted shaking her head, "he's dead."

"You can't know for sure," he reasoned, "you said yourself that he was still alive and had help when you went through the gate."

"He is. I found out from one of the Hunters," Vala said quietly.

"Hunters," he asked in confusion.

"Kaien was a rather important and popular man," Vala explained. "About a few months or so after I escaped my planet, I managed to settle on an obscure planet as a healer," she smiled weakly at his look of surprise. "It's amazing what you can do with a healing device," she explained dismissively. "Suffice it to say, that didn't last very long when the first of them found me."

An unreadable look suddenly crossed her face. "Between the Goa'uld, Jaffa, Qetesh's former slaves, bounty hunters and the regular scum of the universe," she ticked off automatically, "I found myself with no other choice but to live on the 'fringe of society,' as you Tau'ri call it. No home to call my own and nowhere where I'm welcomed."

Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat. "You have a home here Vala!"

"Only for so long," she replied calmly.

Daniel felt as if his heart had stopped and he stared at her, "what do you mean 'only for so long'?"

Daniel's question was met with silence, as Vala continued to avoid eye contact. And suddenly it occurred to him. "You never expected us to stand by you if we ever found out about this, did you? That's why you were so hesitant to tell me about this wasn't it?"

Vala's continued silence shocked him.

"Vala, how could you even think we'd abandoned you?"

"How could I not Daniel," Vala retorted. "You've known me what, a few years? Met me as a thief! My own people," she began to rant, "people I grew up with! The man I was going to marry! They all turned their backs on me! And each time, each time I was stupid enough to think that the past was finally behind me, it shows it's ugly head, and I have to start over again! Well I'm tired of it Daniel, tired of getting my hopes up!"

"Well first off," Daniel shot back at her, "I'm not…we're not going to abandon you for being a victim of Qetesh! If anybody comes looking for you, we've got your back, no matter what! And secondly, what happened with Kaien was self-defence; you had no choice, no matter what you might think! And I'm certainly not sorry you did what you had to, to stay alive!"

"You're just saying this because you feel sorry for me," Vala countered. "Well I don't want your pity!"

"I don't pity you Vala," Daniel tried to reassure her. "It's just that I understand where…"

"Understand," Vala scoffed. "How could you possibly understand the guilt that I have to live with," she asked, but immediately regretted the question as Daniel stilled beside her.

"I think you know the answer to that," Daniel replied quietly.

"Sha're," she automatically supplied, a hand quickly covering her mouth in horror. "Oh Daniel, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean…"

"It's alright," he interrupted her apology. "I spent a lot of time blaming myself for blindly following her into the tent that day." Daniel explained, intent on making Vala understand that she wasn't alone. "If I had been more careful, Teal'c wouldn't have had to save me, and she might still be alive," his voice, melancholy before, suddenly becoming self-depreciating. "Hell, if it weren't for me and my damn curiosity, the Abydos gate would have still of been buried."

"Daniel," Vala questioned, concern written on her face, her own worries temporarily forgotten.

Shaking his head, Daniel forced his mind away from any more unpleasant thoughts and focussed his attention back to the present. Looking up, he caught sight of Vala's concerned features, and his own lightened up in response at her worry.

"I'm okay," he said waving off her concern. Grabbing her hand in his, he gave her a small smile. "It's hard, letting go of the guilt," he continued, "no matter what people tell you, or what you know," he gazed pointedly at her, "deep down you always wonder if there wasn't something different you could have done."

Pausing to take a breath, he momentarily considered his next words. "It never really leaves you," he admitted. "But it does get easier, especially when you've got understanding friends," squeezing her hand, he flashed her a small mischievous grin, "particularly when one of them is a nuisance who won't allow you to wallow in your own misguided guilt."

Lips quirking, Vala squeezed Daniel's hand in return, as she remembered her determination to discover the reason behind Daniel's sudden depression a few years back. It was difficult, but she had badgered the story out of him, and had learned of the guilt that he carried over Sha're. At the time, she hadn't associated it with the guilt she herself carried, but now….

"Vala?"

"I'm sorry," Vala said, breaking out of her thoughts. "Just thinking how we seem to be in the same ship."

Trying and failing to hide the amused grin that threatened to emerge, "boat," he automatically corrected, "that's 'in the same boat!'"

"Ship, boat, what's the difference," Vala asked, a confused frown adoring her features.

Daniel's grin grew at the adorably confused expression Vala was currently wearing. Shrugging, his gaze soon turned serious, as he gripped her hand tightly, "it doesn't matter," he replied. "What does matter is that I'm here for you, no matter what!"

Not knowing how to reply to the compassionate and earnest declaration, Vala bit her lower lip and ducked her head, letting her hair hide her features.

Reaching over, Daniel gently tilted her head up, and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Hey," he said with a smile, "you know you can trust me on that right?"

Vala nodded without hesitation, marvelling at this man's ability to worm his way past the years of self-constructed barriers that she had erected to protect herself from an uncaring universe.

"Good," Daniel murmured as he pulled her into a hug, which Vala slowly returned, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Do you want to keep talking about it," Daniel asked, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"No," Vala's muffled response could barely be made out, but her shaking head conveyed the message clearly enough.

"Alright, whenever you're ready, I'll be there," he murmured softly. "But for now, what say we get off base for a while," he added wanting to get her away from the oppressive atmosphere that her room had become.

Pulling away slightly, Vala gave the first real genuinely happy smile that day, "I'd like that! Thank you Daniel!"

Matching her smile, Daniel replied, "you're welcome Vala!" Slowly releasing her, Daniel made to stand up, when a thought struck him, "actually why don't you pack a bag," he added casually.

"Daniel…" Vala asked, confusion once more adorning her features.

"You can stay with me for a bit. Plus I've got leave saved up. Might as well use them to show you around town," he blurted out in a rush. "I'll even consider letting you take me on one of those girl things that you and Sam would do," he added somewhat reluctantly.

The sudden impact of Vala's body against his was the only response he got. As quickly as she had attached herself to him, she released him and turned around to rummage through her closet.

Grinning, Daniel wasn't sure if what he was doing was the right thing, but at the very least he could help get her mind off of things. "I'll go clear things with General Landry," he called to her, only to shake his head in amusement when she replied with a wave of her hand without even looking up.

Making his way to the door, he paused to look back at the woman carefully selecting her clothes. He pondered over whether or not he should voice his next thoughts. She deserved, no needed, to have someone tell her, he thought to himself, and so took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders before calling out, "Vala."

Looking up from her task, Vala quirked an eyebrow at the nervous, yet earnest expression that Daniel had suddenly adopted. "Yes," she replied simply.

"What you said before," he began, "about being dead…you were wrong."

At the look of confusion that Vala sent him, he elaborated. "Who you were before Qetesh, isn't dead…maybe lost…but I've seen glimpses of the real you…and well, your mother would have been proud of the woman you've become." He looked away briefly before turning back to face Vala, "because I know I am," he said with deep sincerity.

Vala didn't reply, but her expression softened and her eyes shined with gratitude. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave Daniel a tiny smile and a quick nod before turning her back to him and continuing her packing.

Daniel stood there a moment longer, as he watched Vala continue her packing, occasionally he noted she would raise a hand to her eyes and furiously rub them. He knew she was still upset, and that she didn't completely believe him when he told her he was proud of her. But he had time to convince her otherwise, and convince her he would.

With that thought in mind, he exited her room, and set a determined pace towards General Landry's office, his mind already working on wording the request for time off for both himself and Vala.

As Daniel moved down the corridor, he failed to notice Cam and Teal'c observing him from further down the corridor.

"Think everything went alright," Cam asked as he looked over at the Jaffa.

"Indeed I do," Teal'c replied, a pleased look making its way onto his stoic features as he watched Daniel march down the corridors, a determined expression on his face, all the while muttering under his breath words that sounded suspiciously like, '…Gen…time off…off base…Vala…getting…into…no…won't work.'


	9. Chapter 9

Epilogue

**Red-Letter Day**

**By acer-sigma**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters that originated from the show. I just own the idea for this story.

**Spoilers: **Possibly some for early Season 9 (Ties that Bind) and maybe Memento Mori. As well, this story takes place sometime after the end of Season 10, and the end of the Ori threat, so maybe a couple of references to Ark of Truth.

**A/N: **Sorry about the wait, but I got side tracked by a couple of other plot bunnies. Hopefully I'll be able to flesh them out into a couple of new stories. But until then, here's the final chapter to Red-Letter Day. Hope you all enjoyed this story! And once again, I'd appreciate it if you review. And to all those of you who have stuck with this story, a heartfelt thanks!

XXXX

Epilogue

Vala let out a sigh of relief as she flung herself onto the couch. She let her mind wander back to the events of the last week. The anniversary of her flight from her village and the death of Kaien had passed. The nightmares still plagued her during the night, and she often found herself awakening in confusion and covered in sweat. Daniel had been unbelievably understanding at having been woken from the noise, and would spend most of the night sitting, in his guest room with her until she could fall back asleep.

As for the days, well Daniel had certainly found an interesting array of things for the two of them to do. She had even agreed to let him take her to a museum, much to his shock, but she had figured she had at least owed him for trying to keep her mind from wandering back to her memories. And surprisingly enough, she'd actually enjoyed the trip, not that she'd admit it to him. And, interestingly enough, she found that listening to him lecture about an artefact and its cultural origins, outside of work, gave her some new insights into the man and the passions he held.

Still, as enjoyable and informative as it was, she had made sure she still profited from the little excursion to 'Dannyland,' as Mitchell would call it. And it was quite profitable too, as she still got a chuckle out of the look of horror, mixed with the 'you can't be serious' expression that had appeared on Daniel's face when she had dragged him to a spa, as repayment for visiting the museum. The pictures of him getting a facial alone, she thought gleefully, were worth there weight in naquadah.

A noise from the doorway brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Daniel stumbling through the doorway, arms loaded down with a multitude of bags from a variety of different stores. Giving him a playful smile, she waved to him from her place on the couch. "What took you so long?"

Daniel shot her a glare as he struggled to angle his way through the door without dropping any of the bags. "You could have waited for me you know. Or at the very least… taken a bag or two," he ground out, shaking the bags slightly to emphasize his point.

"Who little old me," she asked playfully, hand on her chest. "Surely you don't mean that darling, after all you're the big strong man!"

"This coming from the very same woman who constantly brags about beating me up on the Prometheus," he said dryly with a roll of his eyes

Looking up at him, from her place on the couch, she flashed him her biggest grin. "Oh," she said sounding incredibly pleased, "so you finally admit that I'm too much woman for you!"

Daniel could feel his heart soar, not at Vala's teasing tone, but at the sparkle of life that he saw in Vala's eyes. It was a sparkle that had been missing since before that day he stumbled onto her trying to drown her memories in alcohol, and it had been missing on those nights he rushed into her room and held her as the nightmares became too much.

As he made his way over towards her, he found himself returning her smile, overjoyed that she was slowly returning to her normal exuberant self. Dropping her bags on the floor in front of her, he slumped down onto the seat beside her. "I said no such thing," he teased back in a perfectly serious tone. "Besides, you seem to conveniently forget that I eventually got the upper hand back then!"

"Pssh," Vala dismissed with a wave of her hand. "That's only because you cheated," she accused with a pointed look.

"Cheated?"

"You shot me in the back," she exclaimed with a look of mock disappointment.

Cocking a Teal'c like look of amusement, he turned to her and exclaimed, "I shot you? You shot me first!"

"Nope," she said with a shake of her head. "If you recall you shot me first with that anti-kull thingy." She paused in thought for a second, "Hmm…than again," she mused, "I did hit you in the head quite a few times…so perhaps you really don't remember. Yes," she nodded in mock seriousness, "that must be it, after all you're not one to get all caught up in silly male pride, now are you?"

Daniel simply stared at her, before shaking his head in amusement. "Gee, thanks…I think."

"Oh don't worry darling," she gave him a pat on the arm, all the while grinning. "I don't hold it against you." She suddenly turned serious. Momentarily looking down, before locking her gaze back on Daniel. "Besides," she began, with a hint of embarrassment, "you've done a lot for me, far more than I deserve, espec…."

"Hey," Daniel quickly interrupted her, "I thought we'd agreed that you wouldn't talk down about yourself like that anymore," he reprimanded slightly. "Sides, I didn't do anything for you," he held up a hand to stop her protest, "I gave you, as you'd say, an 'opening,' and you not only took it, but turned it into something to be proud of."

"Daniel…."

"And I'm proud of you," he said, looking her straight in the eye, his own reflecting his pride and happiness at her accomplishments, "we all are."

Ducking her head in embarrassment, Vala let his words wash over her. It wasn't the first time he'd said it to her since he'd gotten her story out of her that fateful day. But it was the first time that she was beginning to actually let herself accept them for what they were, both as truth and as a sign of belonging.

Daniel simply watched Vala, knowing that she was still having a hard time believing that anyone could truly accept her, especially after learning the story of her return and eventual flight from her village. After hearing the whole story, he doubted if he himself would ever get over the anger at hearing of the pain and sorrow that had been inflicted upon the woman sitting beside him. As it stood, he'd have to make sure that the team would never gate to her home planet, or even any planet that Qetesh had once ruled. He'd be damned if he let anyone open up her old wounds again, especially now that he could see that she was slowly beginning to allow them to close.

"So," Daniel finally broke the silence, unsure of what to say, before settling on the topic that had been foremost on his mind for most of the day. "Are you sure you're ready to go back tomorrow?"

"Hmm," Vala shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh…well, as much as I enjoy having an actual roof over my head, fresh air, and not being buried underground, I suppose we really must get back to work," she said with a sigh.

Daniel smiled at the look of disappointment that Vala sported at the thought of having to return to the mountain. "Well, I suppose I could try to get General Landry to give us a bit of an extension," he offered.

"Really," Vala exclaimed happily. "You think he'd go for it?"

Daniel shrugged, "Like I said before, I've got a lot of leave time saved up. Plus, Jack's always telling me I need to take time off; this might not be what he had in mind," Daniel shuddered slightly at Jack's idea of downtime…fishing, "but so what!"

"Well that may be the case with you, but I suspect the IOA will have something to say about extending my time off base."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Daniel said as he casually flung his arm over her shoulder. "You'll be with me. Sides, not only does Jack like you, so does Landry, and I'm sure Cam and Teal'c will throw in their two cents as well."

Vala suddenly straightened. "Oh, but didn't you say something about Cameron stirring insanity the other day when he called."

Daniel chuckled; it never failed to amuse him whenever she used Tau'ri sayings. "That's going 'stir crazy,'" he corrected. "And, he'll just have to deal," he said with a wicked grin.

Vala's own grin matched Daniel's own. "Why Daniel Jackson," she teased, "I do believe you've developed a cruel streak."

"What can I say, I've learned from the best," he replied simply.

"Yes, and don't you forget it," Vala mocked threatened.

Daniel simply smiled and nodded in agreement and the two fell into a comfortable silence, before Daniel excused himself to make a call to the SGC.

XXXX

Vala leaned back into the couch as she watched Daniel on the phone. Her life definitely did not turn out the way she had once imagined. But for the first time, she thought as Daniel smiled to her from his place by near the phone, she didn't really care. Sure, she knew, she'd still carry the pain of being driven away from the only home she'd ever known, and the guilt over killing Kaien. But now, now she finally had a new home, new friends, and… she glanced once more over to Daniel, perhaps, something more. She shook her head to clear that train of thought.

She wasn't sure just where she stood with Daniel. But she knew that he not only understood her pain, but also shared it; and more importantly, that he would stand by her where so many others had abandoned her whenever her past would make an unwanted appearance. She only prayed that he would never have to help her deal with more than just her nightmares.

She suddenly looked over towards Daniel as she heard him put the phone down. The smile on his face was all the answer she needed, and she got up quickly and ran towards Daniel; who only just managed to maintain his balance as he caught her jumping into his arms excitedly. Seeing him smiling back at her, Vala could honestly say that her life hadn't turned out as differently or as badly as she had always thought it had.


End file.
